Himalaya [Hardcover]

Eric Valli (Author), Anne de Sales (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004

This stunning collection of Valli's most beautiful photographs from his time in the Himalaya presents the region's spectacular scenery: steep and narrow pathways, lonely high valleys, dramatic passes at 16,000 feet above sea level, and remote villages seemingly untouched by modernity.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Westerners tend to view the Himalayas as either a troubled political region or a mountain climbing mecca, but neither fully captures the place revealed in this magnificent book. Photographer Valli spent two decades documenting the Himalayan region and its peoples. His photographs, reproduced here in giant two-page spreads, are interspersed with short essays by cultural anthropologist de Sales, who examines how the area is being affected by the incursions of the 21st century. Many of Valli’s images lack any trace of the modern world—yaks steam in the sun, women carry heavy bundles on faint trails. Familiar views of shepherds huddled against a snowstorm make riverside fishing scenes seem even more lush and green. Valli, who learned local languages and whose love for the region is palpable, moves among his subjects easily; people young and old gaze into his lens with varying degrees of amusement. These portraits are the best part of the book, revealing a way of life that will be unimaginably foreign to most readers. "During my pilgrimages and encounters, I finally dissolved into these Himalaya," Valli writes. "Under their tutelage, this high mountain world, this gigantic barrier of rock and snow that I had thought of as a vast, hostile, impassable wall revealed itself... to be a place of passage." 200 color plates.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Éric Valli lived for many years in the Himalaya and is one of the region's best-known photographers. He is a regular contributor to Géo and National Geographic and the author of numerous books, including Abrams' Himalaya, about the making of his first feature-length film. He now lives in Paris. Anne de Sales is a cultural anthropologist for the CNRS, the national organization for scientific research, in Paris. She spent a decade in Nepal and has written several books on shamanism.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; 1st US edition (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810956128
• ISBN-13: 978-0810956124
• Product Dimensions: 14.6 x 11.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,497,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning photographs with very intimate human touches, November 4, 2006

By 

socratic muser "socratic muser" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Himalaya (Hardcover)

Eric Valli combines all the elements of photography that I like: composition, color, light, smoke, and the human experience. I love how he tells a story with each photo. I would be stunned if only one of his pictures combined all these elements superbly, but nearly all of his photos do! I have looked at many photography books, but I only want to own this one.